God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance. (Romans 2:4) I woke one day recently with the words of a Graham Kendrick hymn that I hadn’t heard or thought of for years going through my mind. We’ll walk the land with hearts on fire And every step will be a prayer Hope is rising, new day dawning Sound of singing fills the air. Let the flame burn brighter In the heart of the darkness Turning night to glorious day Let the song grow louder As our love grows stronger Let it shine, let it shine. It’s a triumphant hymn. Many will be able to identify with these words as they walk from day to day with the fire of love for, and dedication to, God burning inside them. However, as I thought about this, I also realised that, for some others, these words will bring sadness because they are echoes of bygone days when their spiritual lives were more vibrant than now. The fire that once blazed has burned low. But for those in this condition, there is hope. Reading Spurgeon’s powerful appeal to those whose fire has grown cold to return to their Lord and Saviour, there is an overwhelming sense of God’s compassion as He woos his lost sheep. It made me wonder how any could refuse to answer His call to walk in the footsteps of the prodigal son. If you know today that your fire is burning low, even if you don’t understand how God could welcome you, even if you can’t get your head around His extraordinary graciousness you can still make a decision to accept it. Don’t let doubts or the awareness of your unworthiness cause you to fail to accept God’s forgiveness. Failing to accept God’s forgiveness is often due to pride and stubbornness. If someone came and offered you a beautifully wrapped box, opened it, and inside it lay all the money you needed for the rest of your life, I am sure it would not take much persuasion to accept that box. You may not understand why the gift is given, may in-fact be totally perplexed , but almost everyone would accept such an offer. Friend, is it any more difficult to accept that: “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18) Come to Christ today. Speak to Him of your sorrow for your sin and very soon, you too will find yourself singing these words; Let the flame burn brighter In the heart of the darkness Turning night to glorious day Let the song grow louder As our love grows stronger Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Pauline Anderson
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He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:28) In my mind, I group sermons into different categories. Let me share some of these with you. Beautiful sermons. These sermons are those which centre on the person of Christ Himself. For example: Your eyes will see the King in His beauty. (Isaiah 33:17) One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord. (Psalm 27:4) You can’t help but be captivated by the beauty of Christ. Watch as he heals the sick: He has ‘compassion’ on them. There is something very beautiful about compassion. Watch as He walks towards the funeral bier of a dead man, precious to his widowed mother. Again, tired and weary, yet He does not want to turn the children away. Whose heart would not be moved as they see Christ through such a sermon? Victory sermons So if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed. (John 8:36) These are sermons where the mighty, victorious, power of God is spoken about. They include references to the parting of the Red Sea, Elijah’s showdown with prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and Jesus casting out a ‘Legion’ of demons . We are told that this same power can change us, transform us, set us free (a big ‘amen’ to that one). Uncomfortable sermons The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle; they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law. They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them. (Psalm78:9-11) Understandably, most pastors would rather preach sermons of approbation than admonishment however, sometimes sermons need to be preached that some people would rather not hear. It convicts them of their sin. It brings them face to face with choices that they have been avoiding or evading. They hear words that reveal the true state of their life. People will even evade church meetings because they don’t want God to challenge them. They anticipate uncomfortable sermons! Some people may become angry at uncomfortable sermons, and others, sadly, may even turn away. But sometimes, reproach is necessary to bring about repentance. Some reading this will soon be attending a week of summer camp meetings. We may hear beautiful sermons, we may hear victory sermons, we may also hear some uncomfortable sermons. Whether you need to have passion for Christ rekindled, your head raised from feelings of defeat, or a challenge to deal with issues you are ignoring, God knows what you need to hear. Whatever shoe fits, put it on… and enjoy camp! Pauline Ann Anderson After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:12) God has created some truly magnificent wonders in this world for His children to enjoy. We can often take these things for granted. For example, the multicoloured rainbow, sparkling constellations, the ferocity of thunder and lightning, towering mountains, rapidly flowing rivers… and silence. That last one seems a bit out of place amount the rest, but who amongst us has not appreciated the beauty of silence at some time in our lives? In my teenage years I was surrounded by noise. Whenever I awoke, my first action was to stretch out my hand and switch on the radio, listening to the latest chart hits as I got ready for school. On becoming a Christian, that was one of the first challenges I faced; not switching on the radio the moment my eyes opened. God was wanting me to find His beauty in silence. Since that time, decades ago now, I can look back and appreciate many times God drew near in the silence. The night before my father died, I was praying in the next room to where he lay peacefully slumbering through his final hours on earth. As I prayed, my voice fell silent, and into that silence, the presence of God descended. He filled, and I mean FILLED, the whole room. There was not a fraction of a square centimetre where His presence did not fill. In that silence, I suddenly knew I would see my father again one day. He was going to Heaven. God’s voice resounded in the silence. One evening in Galilee, Israel, accompanied by a friend, I got into a car. About to turn on the engine, suddenly I heard it… in the silence was the presence of God. The sound of His presence increased and increased. For about a quarter of an hour, we sat in that silence listening to His presence. We live in a world of a million sounds, well, at least it seems that way. Some are melodious and peaceful and carry a beauty with them. Others are loud, brash, and clamour for our attention. There is a danger that in the cacophony of sound, we miss the beauty of the ‘gentle whisper.’ Elijah had to go alone onto a mountainside to hear it. He left Mount Carmel. He left those who were threatening his life. He left his servant. What is it you have to do leave today to hear the beauty that there is in silence? “Quietude, which some men cannot abide because it reveals their inward poverty, is as a palace of cedar to the wise, for along its hallowed courts the King in his beauty deigns to walk.” Charles H. Spurgeon Pauline Anderson We have some beautiful verses in the Bible. This verse is one of them. But to really appreciate what is being said here, it helps to know a little bit about oak trees. FIRSTLY One of the important features of an oak is its extensive root system which spreads wide and deep to help to secure it, even during violent storms. In the grounds of where I work, we have a large oak tree that has survived five hundred years of wind, hail, snow and rain (and a good bit of sunshine too). It could not have achieved such longevity without putting down deep roots. So, if we are to be God’s oaks, how do we ‘grow’ our roots deep in Him. Well, we are told that we are ‘oaks of righteousness’. This gives us a hint. This simply means that we live our lives in such a way that we are right with God and and right with man. That’s easy to write but mighty challenging to live, so how do we do it? It’s as we give our lives wholeheartedly to Jesus Christ, deliberately shunning sin in our lives that we become deeply grounded deeply in Him, able to withstand a multitude of storms. Whether it be financial hardships, marriage difficulties, ill health, persecution, ridicule and abuse, disappointment, redundancy or depression, nothing will overwhelm us. SECONDLY As well as being known for its strength and durability, oak wood shows a greater resistance to attack by destructive growths. As we walk in ‘righteousness’, as well as putting down deep roots, the strength of Christ develops in us. We can ‘resist the devil’ (James 4:7) and all his destructive ways. We recognise that he is ‘a thief and a robber” (John 10:1) and “he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:34). He is our enemy but we can resist him and overcome. THIRDLY Some oaks are evergreen. This means that they retain their foliage all year round. This thought is reflected in Jeremiah 17:7-8: Blessed is the man whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” In other words: “Our faith will remain green forever.” Isn’t that a beautiful picture? So, in conclusion, what do oaks of righteousness look like? 1. They have a root system that is deeply grounded in Christ. 2. They have strength to stand against the wiles of the devil. 3. They are fruitful in good times and bad. A ‘display of his splendour’ indeed! Don’t you want to be an oak of righteousness? I certainly do! Pauline Anderson Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6) We are living in a ‘microwave’ society where so much in life is instant. This has permeated Christian life also. Some people want ‘instant’ answers from God. One of these often involves discovering what God wants them to ‘do’. Many times in life, people have told me that others have ‘prophesied’ over them indicating that God is going to use them mightily. The focus is always on the greatness of the person and, sadly, not on the greatness of God. It is always about ‘doing ’ and never about ‘being’. On one occasion, a young man asked me for advice. He was, and had been for years, living in gross immorality however, someone had ‘prophesied’ about a particular area of work that he would be involved in that would be a great work for God. He would be a great success! It was just what he wanted to hear. I had to tell the young man that I had no faith in the prophet nor the prophecy because it mentioned nothing about repentance and turning away once a for all, from sin. It is sad, but true to say that some Christians, even leaders, wrongly place a higher emphasis on ‘doing’ rather than ‘being’ in our walk with God. Let’s look at what the Bible tells us about what God truly wants for us. What is really important in life? But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33) Notice that it doesn’t say ‘seek to be greatly used’ or ‘seek to be famous’. Let’s get things in perspective. The most important thing we will ever ‘do’ in life is ‘seek God first’. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit —fruit that will last. (John 15:16) Bearing fruit takes time. It’s often painful and it takes deep commitment. No one has ever told me that someone prophesied this verse over them! He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8) This verse simply tells us what God requires of us after we have received His great salvation. Instead, some Christians want to be ‘the big shot’. They want to be in the limelight’. How many people seek humility and walk that way daily? Hugh Black, one of the two founder members of the Struthers group of churches, often put us firmly in our place by quoting Jeremiah 45:5: “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not.” He had a wonderful way of keeping us grounded in God, and not on false future fantasies of personal prowess. Leaders should point young Christians Godward from the start of their walk with Him, encouraging them to seek Him for themselves to become more like Him. This does not mean that they shouldn’t get advice, encouragement or correction from other Christians, but it would generally be from a person who they know and someone who has spiritual oversight of them….not a random stranger whose focus is on being great rather than being godly. That way, not only will the young Christian truly discover what God wants them to ‘be’, but they will also discover what He wants them to ‘do’. ‘Doing’ should always be born out of ‘being’. “I think one of the biggest challenges facing Christian leaders today is an identity crisis…. Our identity is not in what we do but in who we are as sons and daughters in Christ. To pursue God’s ways is to be people of being over people of doing.” (https://reconciledworld.org/flourish/pursuing-gods-ways-being-vs-doing/) Pauline Anderson Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us. (Psalm 80:1,2) Have you ever been struck by the number of Psalms where the Psalmist is lamenting his adverse circumstances and calling upon God for help? Here are just a few examples. Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy. Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers.(Psalm 64:1,2) Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. (Psalm 69:1-4) I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. (Psalm 77:1-6) Have you ever noticed how raw these Psalms, and others like them are? They are born out of times of trouble, trial and turmoil. You can almost hear the plea for help wrung from a heart heavy with anguish. The psalmists are very open about their needs. I don’t know if I would be writing down my pleas and petitions and making them available to all the world to read! However, one thing that becomes clear is that us that they expected God to hear them and they expected God to answer them. Quoting from Psalm 12:1, “Help, Lord”, Spurgeon says: Students, in doctrinal difficulties, may often obtain aid by lifting up this cry of "Help, Lord," to the Holy Spirit… Spiritual warriors in inward conflicts may send to the throne for reinforcements, and this will be a model for their request. Workers in heavenly labour may thus obtain grace in time of need. Seeking sinners, in doubts and alarms, may offer up the same weighty supplication. In fact, in all these cases, times, and places, this will serve the turn of needy souls. "Help, Lord,”. God wants us to cry out to him, to share with Him out trials and tragedies. And there is something else we should notice about these Psalms of lamentation. Most of them either end with, or incorporate a note of thanksgiving and praise. Let’s take a look at what the Psalmists in the Psalms we looked at above wrote: All people will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done. The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will glory in him! (Psalm 64:9-10) I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs. The poor will see and be glad - you who seek God, may your hearts live!” (Psalm 69:30-32) Your ways, God, are holy.What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. (Psalm 77:13-14) God wants you to call out to him in our time of need… whatever that need. But He doesn’t want this to be the end of the story - He wants you to trust Him with your lamentations and turn your eyes outward and upward to Christ because, as Richard Wurmbrand said, “The living Jesus will give you joy amid tribulation.” Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full on His wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace. Pauline Anderson Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1) In the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan, we see a man going out of his way to help another man who has been beaten, robbed and left for dead. His compassion and care are exemplary, considering the one he helped was a natural ‘enemy’. Now, imagine the Samaritan going on his way the next day and discovering another person in the same plight. He does exactly the same thing for him as he did for the first. We like this Samaritan. He’s a good man. Imagine him going back on the road the next day again, and the same thing happens. What do you think he would do? Would it be reasonable for him to say, “I’ve already done this twice. I need to draw a line somewhere?” This causes us to reflect on the kind of life, as Christians, God calls us to live. The Bible, as so often, is our guide as to how to do this. Let’s start with forgiveness. This is something that we all face as Christians, sometimes on a daily basis. We experience situations where we feel wronged by others, sometimes in very small ways, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21-22) Peter’s suggestion surely seemed to him very generous. How shocked he and the others must have been with Jesus’s reply! It hovered on the borders of insanity! This just wasn’t the way people lived. But Jesus was letting them know that they had to mirror the scope of God’s forgiveness. If we call ourselves children of God, should there not be a desire to walk, act, speak and treat others in the same way as Jesus? Another challenging verse is: Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. (Proverbs 3:27) It might be in our power to do good but we don’t always always find it convenient or desirable. Hmmm! What should we do? I know someone who once received great blessing by doing a very small act of kindness at a time that, in their option, was undesirable. They simply didn’t want to do it but, being convicted of selfishness, they did it. The spiritual blessing they received was inordinately greater in proportion to the deed that had been done. They thank God, to this day, that they did not “withhold good”. They also learned the secret that: Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:35) Most people alive today have a distorted image of God, if indeed they have any image of God at all. It has been twisted and contorted by the devil until He is unrecognisable. Every day in life we have opportunities to showcase God’s nature to the world. We can do this by forgiving, by not withholding good, by refreshing others… and much more. Shall we commit ourselves again totally with all our might, to showcase our wonderful, forgiving, patient, kind and loving God to the world around us? Let’s get going... “We are each of us like a small mirror in which God searches for his reflection.” John Vianney Pauline Anderson They were the potters who lived at Netaim and Gederah; they stayed there and worked for the king. (1 Chronicles 4:23) In ancient times pottery played an important role in eveyday life. People used pottery for cooking, eating food and storing food. There was no ‘Tupperware’, glass jars or cast iron pots and pans, only clay. We read that these potters ‘worked for the king’. In today’s terms, that would probably amount to what we call a “Royal Warrant”. To receive a Royal Warrant, accompanied by the prestigious appendage of “Appointment to His Majesty the King”, an institution has to have supplied either the reigning monarch, their spouse or the Prince of Wales for at least five of the last seven years to be considered. The products they supply to the Royal household are of the finest quality. Some better known Royal Warrant holders are Twinings, The Ritz Hotel Piccadilly, Fortnum and Mason Piccadilly, and Burberry. They ‘work for the king’. It’s an extremely prestigious position to be awarded. Your business suddenly becomes very important when you are chosen to ‘work for the king’. As Christians we too have been awarded a Royal Warrant. We are called to work for The King. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, He issues that prestigious warrant to us, “Appointment to His Majesty King Jesus”. We are appointed to: “Work heartily for the Lord.” (Colossians 3:23) I wonder what each one of us is doing today with our Royal Warrant. As John Wesley said: "Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can." As Paul’s Royal Warrant drew to a close, he was able to honestly say: “I have fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7) Paul took his ‘Appointment” seriously. He spent his life in the knowledge that all that he said, all that he did was for his King. He loved his King and regarded it a privilege to be called to serve one whose very life’s blood had been shed for him. Let’s thank God for our Royal Warrants and work with our whole hearts today. “Work for God… the retirement benefits are great” Pauline Anderson "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour." (Luke 4:18-19) The New Testament reader very quickly notices that John’s gospel is quite different from the other three in a number of ways. One difference is that John highlights only seven of Jesus’s miracles compared to the 37 we read of in the gospels combined!However, so that we are left in no doubt that there are many more, John tell us that: Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. (John 20:30) Over the centuries, people have scratched their heads, puzzling over John’s apparently strange inclusion of the wedding feast at Cana. It just doesn’t seem as relevant compared to Jesus’ miracles of healing, deliverance, walking on water and the multiplication of food! However, if we take a closer look at the gospel, we understand why. The seven miracles that John chose, demonstrated to his readers, Jesus’ divine identity and his mission on earth. And what better way to open this narrative than recounting a miracle of transformation! Jesus came to seek the lost, save the lost and transform the lost. Paul explains this in 2 Corinthians 2:18 when he says, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” After the miracle of transformation at Cana, we read of many transformed lives in the New Testament; Mary Magdalen , Matthew, Peter, Paul, Zacchaeus to name but a few. In his book, Fresh Eyes on Jesus’ Miracles, Doug Newton writes, “Without even waving a hand… Jesus performed a miracle of radical transformation. Only the God who created the Universe from nothing could have fused the one-time water with carbon and acids and sparkling flavour. If he could do this to water-filled pots, imagine what he can do with worry-filled people.” Imagine what he can do/has done with the drug addict, the alcoholic, the depressed woman, the suicidal man, the broken hearted parent… you and me! Doesn’t that make us want to shout ‘Hallelujah’? Don’t we want everyone to know this God who takes the blind, the weak, and the oppressed and transforms them into ‘a crown of splendour in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.” (Isaiah 62:3) This is your God. This is my God. This is what we can expect when we yield our lives wholly to Him. Shall we do this today? “The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.” D.L. Moody Pauline Anderson This week’s Thought has been written by Peter Hodson. “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 ) With global events as they are today, we might well ask why we are here at this time in history. The truth is that you and I were not born randomly. God had planned our birth, who we are, our personality, our temperament, when and where we were born, before the world was made (Eph1:4). He has a specific and unique purpose for you and me to fulfil. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:4-6) It is wonderful and possibly frightening to think that God who created the universe, has a plan and a purpose for you and me as individuals, planned by Him before the world’s foundation, to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, and so to bring God glory as his purposes are worked out in the world. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9) For you are a holy people [set apart] to the Lord your God; and the Lord has chosen you out of all the peoples who are on the earth to be a people for His own possession. (Deuteronomy 14:2) What a privilege! And what confidence this gives us to completely entrust our lives and all that happens to us, to God and live lives of obedience to Him! Esther was brought unexpectedly into the position of Queen in the kingdom of Persia and her obedience to Mordecai brought about the rescue of the entire Jewish people. We have been brought into a far greater Kingdom and we possibly will never know this side of eternity how our daily obedience to God will affect other lives. “Esther chose the path of joy and blessing when she agreed to play her role in God’s plan.” (Go to questions.org/for-such-a-time-as-this) We each have a high and holy calling. God grant that we may recognise our glorious privilege and respond with joyful obedience and ‘run in the path of His commands’ (Ps 119:32), for we each have indeed been brought into the Kingdom for such a time as this! Therefore, believers, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you [be sure that your behaviour reflects and confirms your relationship with God]; for by doing these things [actively developing these virtues], you will never stumble. (2 Peter 1:10) Peter Hodson
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